The Ultimate Corporate Gifting Guide
There’s a fine art to giving good gifts during the holiday season. It’s a lengthy list, after all, encompassing everyone from your clients to your partners to your colleagues. The more people for whom you buy, the more difficult it may be to find unique corporate gifts that appeal to you—and that will please your recipients.
What’s the secret to successful gift-giving during what’s undoubtedly one of the busiest times of the year? It begins with intention. Your business relies on the loyalty of clients and the hard work of staff to thrive year-round. The end of the year is a wonderful time to recognize their contributions and express your gratitude for all of the ways they contribute to your success.
The secret to finding the perfect gifts, however, is less clear. There are many items out there that, at a glance, seem nice enough. But “nice” is just part of the equation. To be truly impactful, it’s important to select gifts that are genuinely useful to the recipient. Showing that you’ve put some thought into the item is especially important. Here’s everything you need to know to become a master corporate gift-giver this holiday season.
Why Do Holiday Corporate Gifts Matter?
Gifts naturally evoke feelings of joy, and it’s always heartwarming to know you’ve performed a kind gesture that brings about those emotions. But from a professional standpoint, corporate gifting is also important for other reasons.
Continue the Relationship
An end-of-year gift serves as a friendly “thank you” and a thoughtful way to keep the connection between you and the recipient alive. Clients will appreciate the acknowledgment, while employees will feel valued for the difference they make to your business and the impact they have on your success. Gifting cements the ongoing connection while giving you an opportunity to thank them for all they have done.
Strengthen a Connection
You aren’t limited strictly to long-time clients when gifting, although those may be the people who first come to mind when you’re devising your lists. But don’t forget to include those potential clients who you met at a trade show or a conference—the ones who made a strong impression on you. You can distinguish yourself from other business owners by sending a thoughtful gift and a friendly note thanking them for taking the time to connect with you. Giving a gift to a prospect is an easy way to leave a positive impression and strengthen that connection.
Bridge the Distance
The gap between you and a remote employee or long-distance client can be difficult to close when you never see each other. Don’t leave these people off your list as the holiday season approaches. Just because you don’t share a connection in person doesn’t mean that the person’s value to your business is any less. Make a point of bridging the distance by expressing your heartfelt thanks for the person’s efforts year-round. A gift coupled with a handwritten note will go a long way in showing your appreciation.
Emphasize Your Thanks
Throughout the year, you might provide gifts to your employees as incentives for meeting certain goals. But gifting during the holidays is decidedly different in that there are no expectations on your end. The recipient doesn’t need to fulfill a specific condition or achieve anything, making what you give all the more meaningful. So here is your opportunity to truly thank them for all they have done and continue to do for the company’s benefit.
Who Belongs on Your Gift List?
Through the year, you’re likely to amass quite a list of contacts. As the year comes to an end, consider those who have made a difference to your business along with those you may want to partner with in some capacity. At a minimum, keep these people on your gift list:
- Employees
- Partners
- Clients
- Prospects
- Leads
What Are the Best Corporate Gifts to Give?
When planning your gift list, be strategic in your decisions. During the year, it’s likely that you give away plenty of promotional products customized with your company’s logo. You’ve witnessed firsthand just how successful those items can be in elevating your branding efforts and keeping your name at the forefront of people’s minds. Giving the right items can have an enormous impact on your success simply because those products serve as a constant reminder of the services and products you offer.
While customization is a powerful way to stimulate brand recall, it also allows you to step outside of the box and select unique, interesting gifts for everyone on your list. When determining what to give to each person, it’s important to zero in on your relationship with them.
Focus specifically on the professional connection you share with the person. If a long-time client continuously brings your business, you have a solid relationship worthy of honoring with a memorable gift. Items like a luxury gift basket, a selection of premium wines, a stylish business backpack, or a handsome leather folio or planner make exceptional options for the person who’s especially deserving of your gratitude.
Employees always appreciate gifts that show your appreciation for their hard work and efforts. A gift card to an area restaurant or coffee shop tucked into a custom coffee mug is a thoughtful choice. Consider giving some high-level branded gear you know your team can use during the colder months, like comfortable uniform jackets or fleece outerwear.
If leads and prospects are on your list, take a simple and genuine approach. You don’t want to seem anything but polite and friendly, which is why it’s thoughtful to send a greeting card and something simple, like a digital gift card to a popular store or a set of customized golf balls along with an invitation for a future round when the weather warms up. The idea is to leave a positive lasting impression—gifts like these do the job nicely.
What to give to those people you don’t know quite as well, but with whom you want to establish a connection? This is a great way to generate some goodwill, so it’s a good idea. Keep it simple and straightforward by giving them something that they can use but isn’t too flashy or over the top.
You send the wrong message if you go overboard, but you strike just the right tone when you send a gift that says you’re thinking of them and hope to connect with them. A small trinket, like custom stainless steel water bottles or a promotional pen and a notebook, is always appreciated. Tech-based gifts like mobile phone stands or earbuds also work well.
Seasonal Corporate Gift Packages
When you have many gifts to send, you may be tempted to send a number of the same item to a group of people. While it’s easy to have wine bottles or chocolate boxes delivered to many individuals at once, there’s a sense of impersonality about this type of delivery. That may not be the message you wish to convey when sending your gift, even if your gift list is long.
In that situation, consider sending out seasonal gift packages to everyone instead. Lend it a “stay cozy” theme to make it appropriate for the occasion. You might include a custom hoodie, a fleece throw blanket, a coffee mug, and a selection of tea, coffee, or hot cocoa.
For those individuals to whom you want to send more high-level gifts, such as high-performing employees who have been with the company for many years or clients that have been loyal to you for a long time, consider a “VIP” type of package. Incorporate items like travel totes or weekender bags, wireless speakers, desktop chargers, tins of cookies or toffee, and plush blankets into the gift.
Corporate Gifting Strategies
Selecting the right types of gifts becomes an even clearer pursuit when you establish a strategy that helps you make sensible choices based on your company’s ethos. If your business focuses strongly on environmental sustainability, for example, it makes sense to give gifts that are recyclable or designed with energy-saving techniques. Your recipients will feel just as good about these gifts as you will in giving them.
Think, too, about when to send your holiday gifts. At this busy time of year, people send gifts at right around the same time. That leaves your item at risk of getting lost in the shuffle or blending in with others, making it less memorable and recognizable. Set yourself apart by creating a corporate gifting schedule. You might choose to send the item before Thanksgiving, for example, or right around that time.
Sending ahead of time not only leaves a positive impression on your recipient but also gives you more time to select appropriate gifts. Once it gets busier, there’s more competition to find the right item—and what you do want may ultimately sell out. That can leave you struggling to find a suitable replacement, and you may end up sending an alternative item that’s just good enough but not quite what you had in mind.
The right strategies can make all the difference to your gifting process at the end of the year. It’s a time-consuming task, but one well worth the effort and energy. It’s a wonderful way to express your gratitude, offer your best wishes, and simply keep a positive connection going as you welcome the new year. That’s good business for everyone involved.